


Found

by rogueshadows



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, Orphans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 07:58:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12384111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rogueshadows/pseuds/rogueshadows
Summary: Bodhi expects to find a crate unlatched and freezes in the doorway at the sight. There's a small boy with dark skin desperately trying to tuck himself away into the corner. The boy sees him too and looks wrought with despair. Bodhi goes closer to talk, find out how he got there and if he’s hurt. The boy draws back sharply at his movement. Bodhi raises his hands patiently as a sign he’s no threat, not wanting to scare him more. The boy still sinks to the ground looking caught and panicked, breath visibly quickening.





	Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hauntedjaeger (saellys)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saellys/gifts).



> Takes place around 22 ABY. Finn is 11. Bodhi is 47, Cassian is 48.

Halfway through the flight back from Bespin Bodhi hears a clatter from the cargo hold and goes to check what’s wrong. He expects to find a crate unlatched and freezes in the doorway at the sight of a small boy with dark skin desperately trying to tuck himself away into the corner. The boy sees him too and looks wrought with despair. Bodhi goes closer to talk, find out how he got there and if he’s hurt. The boy draws back sharply at his movement. Bodhi raises his hands patiently as a sign he’s no threat, not wanting to scare him more. The boy still sinks to the ground looking caught and panicked, breath visibly quickening.

“Hey, it’s alright, I don’t know how you got in here but I’ll get you back home,” he says and the boy looks more horrified at the words. He shakes his head vehemently and speaks suddenly.

“No,” he scrambles out at first sounding anguished. Bodhi starts to ask if he’s hurt but the boy continues more frantically. “I don’t have a home, please, please don’t take me back sir,” he says in a rush. He sounds so terrified that Bodhi’s heart breaks, his own heartbeat spiking with anxiety and want to help.

“I only meant to catch a ride, please,” he’s begging Bodhi with eyes wide, working himself into a panic. Bodhi speaks quick to try and ease his fears.

“I won’t, it’s okay,” he says. The boy is still breathing harshly and Bodhi knows the feeling so he tries his best to get him to focus. He places a hand on the boys back and he flinches but doesn’t scramble away.

“I need you to breathe with me okay, I promise not to take you back,” Bodhi says, he takes a slow deep breath of his own for the boy to follow. It takes a moment but he does, finally calming some and falling into a catatonic silence that scares Bodhi more.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay. What’s your name?” Bodhi asks calmly.

“FN-2178,” the boy sputters out meek and exhausted. He pulls away from Bodhi’s touch as if suddenly too vulnerable at the admission. Bodhi is too shocked to follow, watching the boy curl in on himself against the cold durasteel as the terrible reality sets in.

The designation has to be from the First Order, so similar to the Imperials he thought they’d long since buried. He knows that for this boy, and the horrifying realization that there must be others like him. Not for the first time since coming out of retirement he wants to burn the First Order to the ground.

\---

When the boy, with the designation Bodhi refuses to call him, realizes that Bodhi is part of the Resistance he looks terrified. Bodhi only has a moment to puzzle at the reaction when the kid asks in a hushed voice if the Resistance is going to do tests and interrogate him like the news videos had shown. Bodhi feels nauseous, rough with anger and sadness at the question. He doesn’t let the anger bleed through, instead trying to channel all the warmth he can as he tells the boy possibly the first true thing he’s ever heard.

“They, we don’t do that,” he says at a loss for more wondering what else the boy’s world view must contain. He doesn’t look relieved but he doesn’t shy away from Bodhi either.

“How can you know?” he asks, anxious and sounding younger than he looks. He’s so young and yet he’s sitting there asking Bodhi about torture expectantly.

“Because,” Bodhi says, “I defected too once and my friends never let anyone do that to me. I’d never let anyone do that to you,” he answers honestly. He braces himself for the thousand questions likely dancing through the kid’s head but none come. He looks at the boy and the resolve he’d shown before is replaced with a mix of awe and wariness.

“It’s true, I swear,” Bodhi says before tracing a Imperial cross across his heart out of the depths of memory. The boy considers the motion closely but says nothing, an intelligence beyond his years that Bodhi hopes will lend itself to trust. The boy’s shoulders lose a hint of tension but he’s still clearly overthinking.

“Okay?” he asks, because he wants to make sure the kid feels a bit safer at least, even knowing he might not trust him fully. The boy still looks like he’d jump at the wrong glance but he answers softly.

“Okay.”

\---

It’s late enough when they finally reach base that there’s no one around to question how Bodhi had suddenly acquired a child. Bodhi and Cassian have a place set off from the main hangar, only a repurposed storage building but Bodhi appreciates the privacy especially now. On the walk down the worn path past the shuttered hangar doors Finn is still wide eyed, sneaking nervous glances back like someone is going to come out and cart him off.

They reach the house and he shuffles them both inside. The front door slides shut behind them and they just look at each other in the silence. Bodhi feels as lost as the kid must be. The boy...FN-2187...he thinks, well, first things first.

“Do you have a name you’d like to be called?” Bodhi asks. He looks at Bodhi like it’s a test.

“I told you already,” he says as he glances over the objects in the small living space.

“Something not like numbers, though no offense if that’s what you like I can call you that,” he says adding the last part quickly, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Finn shakes his head and looks as though he’s deep in thought.

“What kind of good names are there?” he asks.

“Well I mean, there are lots, obviously you know that with so many people but, I’m Bodhi…” he says realizing he hadn’t even mentioned before.

“That one sounds good...can you pick for me?” he asks shyly. Bodhi’s mind rattles through options, knowing it’s a big responsibility, remembering how stressful naming Rogue One had been and that wasn’t even a person. He fixes on simplicity for both their sake.

“How about Finn?” he asks. The boy rolls it over in his mouth, repeating and re-repeating before the slightest smile forms.

“Finn,” he says, “I like that.”

\---

Bodhi doesn’t want to press to ask questions knowing how tired Finn must be. He convinces the boy to lie on the couch and get some sleep, or at least pretend to for Bodhi’s benefit. It gives Bodhi time to go into the tiny kitchen and pace. He comms Cassian and gets no answer, a good sign that he’s likely too near to home to send any signal, if everything went well at least. Bodhi doesn’t let himself consider the alternative anymore after years of worry. Now Finn is on the forefront of that anyway, Bodhi doesn’t know what the protocol is for bringing him here, not really caring what rules he might have broken though he knows the higher ups will likely have opinions on the matter. Luckily Cassian is technically one of those higher ups, swinging things a bit in his favor.

He goes back to the living room and sits in the oversized chair in the corner where he can keep an eye on Finn, worried if he wakes up alone he might just take off into the forest. He tries to focus on the datapad in his hands and write out his own report of Lando’s intel but First Order trade deals feel irrelevant in comparison to the boy in his care now. He glances over from time to time and watches Finn’s even breathing wanting nothing more than to do right by him. He tries not to get attached, knowing that the boy might not be able to stay or might not want to, but still can’t help the bond he feels.

\---

It’s only been a few hours when Bodhi wakes with a start straightening in the chair and groaning at the stiffness of his neck. He rolls his shoulders and runs a hand through his hair and looks over to the couch where Finn is sitting still as if he’d been waiting.

“Hey,” Bodhi says, “you been awake long?”

“No sir,” he says falling back into protocol out of habit. Bodhi tries not to let his expression shutter at the obedience of his tone.

“It’s just Bodhi,” he says kindly, getting up and stretching. He looks at his wrist sees a missed message from Cassian and sighs with relief that he’ll be back home soon. He shoots back that he has something to discuss, knowing messaging the whole circumstances is far too involved.

“You must be hungry,” Bodhi says and Finn perks up at the words.

“Yes sir, I mean, Bodhi,” he says softly.

“C’mon, I’ll cook us something,” he says waving Finn along to sit at the small dining table while Bodhi whips something together. He settles on a bit of toasted flatbread and what little fruit they have, making note to go pick up more supplies later. Finn picks at the food as if it could be a trap at first but once he realizes that it’s safe he seems to enjoy the simple meal as if it were a luxury. Bodhi wonders how long it’s been since he ate, if he’s ever had more than the ration packs they used to give out at the academy. Bodhi picks at his own food until he gets another message from Cassian that he’s entered atmo. He glances at Finn, seeing how much more at ease he seems now, grateful he’s at least done something right for now. He replies to Cassian that he’ll meet him at the landing pad, glad they’ll have a chance to talk privately at least.

“I have to go but I’ll be right back, I don’t know if you trust me entirely yet...I can’t blame you, but, please just don’t run off.” Now that he doesn’t look an inch from bolting he swears the boy almost smiles at Bodhi’s nervous chatter.

“I’ll stay,” he says with a new hint of trust Bodhi counts as a victory.

\---

Bodhi makes his way to the ship anxiously. He’s gotten there just in time as the gang plank lowers. Cassian looks tired but blessedly unhurt after the long trip away and Bodhi can’t help but smile at the sight. He’s distracted at first, saying something to Kay until he spots Bodhi and breaks into a grin. Cassian crosses the distance to pull Bodhi into a firm hug that nearly sweeps him off his feet.

“Missed you too,” Bodhi breathes, steadying himself and melting into the embrace. Cassian kisses his hair and pulls back to just look at him.

“Sorry it took so long,” Cassian says. It’s been a month and Bodhi is too glad to have him back to scold him for the apology. Cassian’s face looks just as beautiful as when they’d met over 20 years ago, even with the deepening lines around his eyes. Their roles are different and so is the war and yet here they both are, holding on and trying still.

“I understand and well, I hope you’ll understand what I have to explain too…I just need you to know, I would have told someone else sooner but he looked so scared...” he says getting ahead of himself nervously. Cassian’s hand on his chest slows him.

“Whatever it is I’m sure I’ll understand,” he says waiting Bodhi to continue. Bodhi sighs.

“I may have accidentally adopted a boy,” Bodhi he starts again bluntly, Cassian looks surprised but just as patient as Bodhi explains what he knows about Finn so far. By the time they leave to go back to the house he knows Cassian will fight just as hard to protect the boy.

\---

He comes back with Cassian in tow and feels it was a mistake not to give some warning by the stricken look on the Finn’s face. He fixates on the rank stripes on Cassian’s jacket and straightens up nervously as Bodhi introduces him. He doesn’t miss the betrayed glance Finn shoots him and it stings.

Before Cassian can even say anything Finn makes his case for staying, offering himself up to fight for the cause with a determined look. Cassian feels the bite of familiarity so much that he refuses outright. Bodhi has never been more grateful. Finn looks surprised a moment and then his jaw tightens again.

“Where will you send me instead, sir?” he asks trying to cover the lost look in his eyes with blankness. Bodhi wants nothing more than to grab the boy by the shoulders and explain that he’s something to be protected, not cargo to shuttle off, but knows the boy wouldn’t understand just yet. He’d become a number once too until Galen picked him out for better or worse, he related achingly.

Cassian shoots Bodhi a look of worry and shared grief, trying to keep his own jaw from tensing. There are a thousand things Bodhi knows he could say, about the lives they’ve lived and all they’ve fought for to protect people just like Finn. All full of bravado that he doubts would help him feel any safer. Cassian understands this better than most having seen the good and bad of the fight over the years.

Cassian kneels, just to Finn’s height. If it were anyone else it would be patronizing but Finn seemed to register what it meant, the click of Cassian’s false knee as he faces him the only sound before he speaks.

“I know what it’s like to feel like you have to fight, and if that’s what you want there will be plenty of time for it. I don’t assume to know what you’ve been through, what you’ve escaped, but I know that those are the kind of people who make kids fight and that’s just not someone I’m willing to be,” he says. Finn swallows hard and nods and Bodhi fills the silence to clarify anything still misunderstood.

“What he means is, we want you to stay with us anyway,” he says with hope etched into the words. Finn looks surprised and something in the boy shifts, like he’s finally realizing there is good in the universe.

“I, I’d like that,” Finn answers and Bodhi feels like he can breathe again. Finn looks back to Cassian as if to double check, clearly caught off guard by Cassian’s kind smile. Bodhi offers a hand to Cassian, helping him to stand by his side.

They fall into an awkward moment, Finn studying the two of them, now less wracked with nerves. Bodhi puts a hand on Finn’s shoulder and the boy doesn’t flinch. He squeezes gently.

“C’mon, let’s show you around,” Bodhi says and Finn finally smiles.


End file.
